Photo by V. Miller
March 8, 2006
Paperbark Trees and Bacteria
Phase II: Phytoceutical Potential of Melaleuca quinquenervia
Melissa Luga, 14, Hilo, Hawaii
Finalist, Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge, 2005
Project background: Last year, Melissa noticed that the paperbark tree Melaleuca quinquenervia in her backyard, unlike the other types of trees, had no vegetation growing around or underneath it. She decided to explore the paperbark tree's natural ability to halt grass and weed growth. On the basis of that experiment, she designed another project. Its goal was to determine if leaves of the paperbark tree would kill bacteria.
Tactics and results: Melissa collected paperbark leaves and made an extract. She then prepared two bacterial cultures—E. coli and Staph. epidermidis. She compared the effectiveness of the extract with that of a positive (antibiotic) and a negative (ethanol) control.
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| Photo by V. Miller |
Melissa found that the leaves do have slight bactericidal properties. She is interested in continuing her research into the chemical and pharmacological properties of Melaleuca quinquenervia to determine if there are possible applications to cancer research.
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